| 1 | J. Neurosci. 2005 Jun 25: 5376-81 |
|---|---|
| PMID | 15930386 |
| Title | DNA methylation status of SOX10 correlates with its downregulation and oligodendrocyte dysfunction in schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Downregulation of oligodendrocyte-related genes, referred to as oligodendrocyte dysfunction, in schizophrenia has been revealed by DNA microarray studies. Because oligodendrocyte-specific transcription factors regulate the differentiation of oligodendrocytes, genes encoding them are prime candidates for oligodendrocyte dysfunction in schizophrenia. We found that the cytosine-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) island of sex-determining region Y-box containing gene 10 (SOX10), an oligodendrocyte-specific transcription factor, tended to be highly methylated in brains of patients with schizophrenia, correlated with reduced expression of SOX10. We also found that DNA methylation status of SOX10 also was associated with other oligodendrocyte gene expressions in schizophrenia. This may be specific to SOX10, because the CpG island of OLIG2, which encodes another oligodendrocyte-specific transcription factor, was rarely methylated in brains, and the methylation status of myelin-associated oligodendrocytic basic protein, which encodes structural protein in oligodendrocytes, did not account for their expressions or other oligodendrocyte gene expressions. Therefore, DNA methylation status of the SOX10 CpG island could be an epigenetic sign of oligodendrocyte dysfunction in schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 2 | Mol. Psychiatry 2005 Mar 10: 309-22 |
| PMID | 15303102 |
| Title | Transcriptional profiling reveals evidence for signaling and oligodendroglial abnormalities in the temporal cortex from patients with major depressive disorder. |
| Abstract | Major depressive disorder is one of the most common and devastating psychiatric disorders. To identify candidate mechanisms for major depressive disorder, we compared gene expression in the temporal cortex from 12 patients with major depressive disorder and 14 matched controls using Affymetrix HgU95A microarrays. Significant expression changes were revealed in families of genes involved in neurodevelopment, signal transduction and cell communication. Among these, the expression of 17 genes related to oligodendrocyte function was significantly (P < 0.05, fold change > 1.4) decreased in patients with major depressive disorder. Eight of these 17 genes encode structural components of myelin (CNP, MAG, MAL, MOG, MOBP, PMP22, PLLP, PLP1). Five other genes encode enzymes involved in the synthesis of myelin constituents (ASPA, UGT8), or are essential in regulation of myelin formation (ENPP2, EDG2, TF, KLK6). One gene, that is, SOX10, encodes a transcription factor regulating other myelination-related genes. OLIG2 is a transcription factor present exclusively in oligodendrocytes and oligodendrocyte precursors. Another gene, ERBB3, is involved in oligodendrocyte differentiation. In addition to myelination-related genes, there were significant changes in multiple genes involved in axonal growth/synaptic function. These findings suggest that major depressive disorder may be associated with changes in cell communication and signal transduction mechanisms that contribute to abnormalities in oligodendroglia and synaptic function. Taken together with other studies, these findings indicate that major depressive disorder may share common oligodendroglial abnormalities with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 3 | Schizophr. Res. 2006 Dec 88: 245-50 |
| PMID | 17010574 |
| Title | The 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase and oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 genes do not appear to be associated with schizophrenia in the Japanese population. |
| Abstract | Several lines of evidence suggest that disturbance of myelin-related genes is associated with the etiology of schizophrenia. Recently, the 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP) gene and the oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) gene were reported to be related to the development of schizophrenia, based on the results of genetic association and microarray studies. In the present study, no significant association with schizophrenia was observed by single-marker or haplotype analysis for 6 tag SNPs of these genes (759 cases, 757 controls). These findings suggest that CNP and OLIG2 are unlikely to be related to the development of schizophrenia in the Japanese population. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 4 | Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2006 Aug 103: 12469-74 |
| PMID | 16891421 |
| Title | Convergent evidence that oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) and interacting genes influence susceptibility to schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Abnormal oligodendrocyte function has been postulated as a primary etiological event in schizophrenia. Oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) encodes a transcription factor central to oligodendrocyte development. Analysis of OLIG2 in a case-control sample (n = approximately 1,400) in the U.K. revealed several SNPs to be associated with schizophrenia (minimum P = 0.0001, gene-wide P = 0.0009). To obtain independent support for this association, we sought evidence for genetic interaction between OLIG2 and three genes of relevance to oligodendrocyte function for which we have reported evidence for association with schizophrenia: CNP, NRG1, and ERBB4. We found interaction effects on disease risk between OLIG2 and CNP (minimum P = 0.0001, corrected P = 0.008) for interaction with ERBB4 (minimum P = 0.002, corrected P = 0.04) but no evidence for interaction with NRG1. To investigate the biological plausibility of the interactions, we sought correlations between the expression of the genes. The results were similar to those of the genetic interaction analysis. OLIG2 expression significantly correlated in cerebral cortex with CNP (P < 10(-7)) and ERBB4 (P = 0.002, corrected P = 0.038) but not NRG1. In mouse striatum, OLIG2 and Cnp expression also was correlated, and linkage analysis for trans-effects on gene expression suggests that each locus regulates the other's expression. Our data provide strong convergent evidence that variation in OLIG2 confers susceptibility to schizophrenia alone and as part of a network of genes implicated in oligodendrocyte function. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 5 | Hum. Genet. 2008 Jan 122: 659-60 |
| PMID | 17934761 |
| Title | Positive association between OLIG2 and schizophrenia in the Chinese Han population. |
| Abstract | A recent study reported that OLIG2 had a significant association with schizophrenia in the UK population. We genotyped three variants scattered among the genomic region of OLIG2, namely rs1005573, rs762178 and rs1059004 in a sample consisting of 329 schizophrenia patients and 288 controls. The results provide further evidence that the SNP rs762178 in OLIG2 seems to be a potential candidate in altering risk for schizophrenia in the Chinese Han population and worthy of further replication and functional study. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 6 | Schizophr. Res. 2008 Jan 98: 129-38 |
| PMID | 17964117 |
| Title | Expression of oligodendrocyte-associated genes in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Prior studies have found decreased mRNA expression of oligodendrocyte-associated genes in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of patients with schizophrenia. However, it is unclear which specific genes are affected and whether the changes occur in the cortical white or grey matter. We assessed the mRNA expression levels of four oligodendrocyte-related genes: myelin-associated basic protein (MOBP), myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP) and oligodendrocyte-lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) in DLPFC white and grey matter using quantitative-PCR (approximately 70 controls and approximately 30 patients with schizophrenia). We also examined the effects of high-risk polymorphisms in CNP and OLIG2 on mRNA levels of these genes. We found that genetic polymorphisms in CNP (rs2070106) and OLIG2 (rs1059004 and rs9653711), previously associated with schizophrenia, predicted low expression of these genes. Expression of MAG, CNP and OLIG2 did not differ between patients with schizophrenia and controls in the grey or white matter but MOBP mRNA levels were increased in the DLPFC white matter in patients with a history of substance abuse. MOBP and CNP protein in the white matter was not altered. Although previously reported reductions in the expression of myelin-related genes in the DLPFC were not detected, we show that individuals carrying risk-associated alleles in oligodendrocyte-related genes had relatively lower transcript levels. These data illustrate the importance of genetic background in gene expression studies in schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 7 | J. Mol. Neurosci. 2009 May 38: 2-11 |
| PMID | 18836851 |
| Title | Discoidin domain receptor 1, a tyrosine kinase receptor, is upregulated in an experimental model of remyelination and during oligodendrocyte differentiation in vitro. |
| Abstract | The discoidin domain receptor (DDR1) is highly expressed in oligodendrocytes during the neurodevelopmental myelination process and is genetically associated to schizophrenia. In this study, we aimed to further assess the involvement of DDR1 in both remyelination and oligodendrocyte differentiation. In the mouse model of demyelination-remyelination induced by oral administration of cuprizone, in situ hybridization showed an upregulation of the DDR1 gene in three different white matter areas (corpus callosum, dorsal fornix, and external capsule) during the remyelination period. Moreover, real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that the increase in DDR1 messenger RNA (mRNA) was strongly correlated with the number of DDR1-positive cells in the corpus callosum (Spearman coefficient = 0.987, P = 0.013). Cells positive for DDR1 mRNA were also positive for oligodendrocyte markers (OLIG2, carnosine, and APC) but not for markers of oligodendrocyte precursors (NG2), myelin markers (CNPase), microglia (CD11b), or reactive glia (GFAP). Differentiation of a human oligodendroglial cell line, HOG16, was associated with an increase in mRNA expression of DDR1 and several myelin proteins (MBP and MOBP) but not other proteins (APC and CNPase). Here, we demonstrate that DDR1 is upregulated in vitro and in vivo when oligodendrocyte myelinating machinery is activated. Further studies are needed to identify the specific molecular pathway. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 8 | Neuroscience 2009 Jun 161: 95-110 |
| PMID | 19298847 |
| Title | In situ hybridization reveals developmental regulation of ErbB1-4 mRNA expression in mouse midbrain: implication of ErbB receptors for dopaminergic neurons. |
| Abstract | Although epidermal growth factor (EGF) and neuregulin-1 are neurotrophic factors for mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons and implicated in schizophrenia, the cellular localization and developmental regulation of their receptors (ErbB1-4) remain to be characterized. Here we investigated the distributions of mRNA for ErbB1-4 in the midbrain of the developing mouse with in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. The expression of ErbB1 and ErbB2 mRNAs was relatively high at the perinatal stage and frequently colocalized with mRNA for S100beta and OLIG2, markers for immature astrocytes or oligodendrocyte precursors. Modest signal for ErbB1 mRNA was also detected in a subset of dopaminergic neurons. ErbB3 mRNA was detectable at postnatal day 10, peaked at postnatal day 18, and colocalized with 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase, a marker for oligodendrocytes. In contrast, ErbB4 mRNA was exclusively localized in neurons throughout development. Almost all of ErbB4 mRNA-expressing cells (94%-96%) were positive for tyrosine hydroxylase in the substantia nigra pars compacta but 66%-78% in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars lateralis. Conversely, 92%-99% of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells expressed ErbB4 mRNA. The robust and restricted expression of ErbB4 mRNA in the midbrain dopaminergic neurons suggests that ErbB4 ligands, neuregulin-1 and other EGF-related molecules, contribute to development or maintenance of this neuronal population. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 9 | Hum. Mol. Genet. 2009 Feb 18: 391-404 |
| PMID | 18996920 |
| Title | Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 and neuregulin 1 are required for the specification of oligodendrocytes and neurones in the zebrafish brain. |
| Abstract | schizophrenia may arise from subtle abnormalities in brain development due to alterations in the functions of candidate susceptibility genes such as Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) and Neuregulin 1 (NRG1). To provide novel insights into the functions of DISC1 in brain development, we mapped the expression of zebrafish disc1 and set out to characterize its role in early embryonic development using morpholino antisense methods. These studies revealed a critical requirement for disc1 in oligodendrocyte development by promoting specification of OLIG2-positive cells in the hindbrain and other brain regions. Since NRG1 has well-documented roles in myelination, we also analyzed the roles of nrg1 and ErbB signalling in zebrafish brain development and we observed strikingly similar defects to those seen in disc1 morphant embryos. In addition to their effects on oligodendrocyte development, knock-down of disc1 or nrg1 caused near total loss of OLIG2-positive cerebellar neurones, but caused no apparent loss of spinal motor neurones. These findings suggest that disc1 and nrg1 function in common or related pathways controlling development of oligodendrocytes and neurones from OLIG2-expressing precursor cells. Like DISC1 and NRG1, OLIG2 and ERBB4 are promising candidate susceptibility genes for schizophrenia. Hence our findings in the zebrafish embryo suggest that hitherto unappreciated neurodevelopmental connections may exist between key human schizophrenia susceptibility genes. These connections could be investigated in Disc1 and Nrg1 mouse models and in genetically defined groups of patients in order to determine whether they are relevant to the pathobiology of schizophrenia. GenBank accession number for Danio rerio disc1: EU273350. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 10 | Neurosci. Lett. 2009 Sep 461: 54-9 |
| PMID | 19477230 |
| Title | Evidence that variation in the oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) gene is associated with psychosis in Alzheimer's disease. |
| Abstract | Psychotic symptoms are common in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and define a phenotype associated with more rapid cognitive and functional decline. Evidence suggests that psychotic symptoms may be influenced by genetic factors, and recent studies in schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) and Alzheimer's disease with psychosis (AD+P) suggest that psychosis susceptibility or modifier genes may act across diseases. We hypothesised that oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2), a regulator of white matter development and a candidate gene for schizophrenia, may also be associated with psychotic symptoms in AD. We genotyped 11 SNPs in OLIG2 previously tested for association with schizophrenia [L. Georgieva, V. Moskvina, T. Peirce, N. Norton, N.J. Bray, L. Jones, P. Holmans, S. Macgregor, S. Zammit, J. Wilkinson, H. Williams, I. Nikolov, N. Williams, D. Ivanov, K.L. Davis, V. Haroutunian, J.D. Buxbaum, N. Craddock, G. Kirov, M.J. Owen, M.C. O'Donovan, Convergent evidence that oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) and interacting genes influence susceptibility to schizophrenia, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (33) (2006) 12469-12474] and tested these for association with AD and AD+P. Significant evidence for association of psychotic symptoms within cases was identified for two SNPs, rs762237 (allelic P=0.002, OR=1.42, corrected P=0.019) and rs2834072 (allelic P=0.004, OR=1.41, corrected P=0.05). |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 11 | Brain Res. 2010 Jun 1336: 22-9 |
| PMID | 20380825 |
| Title | Expression of the tyrosine kinase discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) in human central nervous system myelin. |
| Abstract | During development of the mouse brain, the protein kinase discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) is present prenatally in neurons of the proliferative areas, and postnatally, DDR1 expression is no longer detected in neurons, but a spatial-temporal expression pattern in oligodendrocytes that overlaps with the dynamics of the myelination process is detected. Notably, oligodendrocytic DDR1 expression is upregulated in mice during experimentally induced remyelination. Recently, we demonstrated that DDR1 expression is high in human brain and that there is an association between the gene and schizophrenia in a case-control study. However, data regarding expression of DDR1 in the human brain are scarce. Here, we describe the expression pattern of DDR1 in the human adult cerebral cortex. Using several immunohistological techniques and in situ hybridization, we identified DDR1 in the following: a) myelin, b) capillary endothelial cells in the gray as well as white matter, and c) in the soma of some oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in the white matter. The most important overall finding in this study was that DDR1 is present in myelin and is expressed by oligodendrocyte cells. We detected the presence of DDR1 mRNA and protein in myelin and observed that DDR1 co-localized with the classical myelin basic protein (MBP). Moreover, we found a strong positive correlation between expression levels of DDR1 and two myelin-associated genes, myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (OLIG2). These observations suggest that DDR1 could be an important constituent of myelin. Because defects in myelination are linked to several mental disorders such as schizophrenia, the function of DDR1 in the process of myelination warrants further investigation. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 12 | Schizophr. Res. 2010 Jun 119: 164-74 |
| PMID | 20346631 |
| Title | Haloperidol activates quiescent oligodendroglia precursor cells in the adult mouse brain. |
| Abstract | Recent human studies suggest that abnormal development of oligodendrocytes (OLs) is an important component in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, less information is available regarding effects of antipsychotics on OLs' development. In the present study, young adult C57BL/6 mice were given haloperidol (HAL; 2mg/kg/day) in their drinking water for three or six weeks. At the conclusion of the drug treatment, mice were sacrificed and the numbers of NG2- and OLIG2-expressing cells in the brain regions of the corpus callosum, hippocampus and cerebral cortex were quantified. NG2 is a specific marker for oligodendroglia precursor cells (OPCs); OLIG2 marks glial progenitors. HAL treatment for three weeks increased the number of NG2-expressing cells in the corpus callosum; HAL treatment for three and six weeks increased the numbers of OLIG2-expressing cells in all three brain regions and increased the levels of OLIG2 expression in the same brain regions. These results suggest that HAL treatment activates adult OPCs, which divide infrequently under normal conditions but respond to a variety of insulting factors by proliferation and differentiation. However, our further observations showed no changes in the number of mature OLs and the amount of myelin basic protein in HAL-treated mice, suggesting the drug treatment has no effect on the maturation of OLs. In addition, HAL treatment did not increase the numbers of GFAP- and CD68-expressing cells, suggesting that no gliosis and inflammatory responses occurred while the drug activated the quiescent OPCs in adult brain. These results suggest that HAL treatment may target the development of OLs. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 13 | Eur. J. Neurosci. 2011 Dec 34: 1906-22 |
| PMID | 22132705 |
| Title | The genetic signature of perineuronal oligodendrocytes reveals their unique phenotype. |
| Abstract | Oligodendrocytes--best known for assembling central nervous system myelin--can be categorized as precursors, myelin-forming cells and non-myelinating perineuronal cells. Perineuronal oligodendrocytes have been well characterized morphologically and ultrastructurally, but knowledge about their function remains scanty. It has been proposed that perineuronal oligodendrocytes support neurons and, following injury, transform into myelin-synthesizing cells. Recent findings implicating perineuronal oligodendrocytes in cytoarchitectural abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders shed new light on these cells. We have obtained the genetic signature of perineuronal oligodendrocytes by identifying gene expression differences between oligodendrocyte subpopulations using cell-specific tags, microarray technology, quantitative time-resolved polymerase chain reaction and bioinformatics tools. We show that perineuronal cells are the progeny of oligodendrocyte progenitors and, hence, are members of the oligodendrocyte lineage. Physiologically they exhibit a novel phenotype. Their expression of PDGFR-?? and its growth factor ligand PDGF-CC sets them apart from members of their lineage as this receptor precludes their response to the same growth factors that act on myelinating cells. Their coordinate expression and context-specific usage of transcription factors OLIG2, Ascl1 and Pax6, together with the prominent presence of transcription factors Pea3, Lhx2 and Otx2--not hitherto linked to the oligodendrocyte lineage--suggested a cell with features that blur the boundary between a neuron and a glial cell. But they also maintain a reservoir of untranslated transcripts encoding major myelin proteins presumably for a demyelinating episode. This first molecular characterization of perineuronal oligodendrocytes revealed the striking difference between the myelinating and non-myelinating phenotypes. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 14 | Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2011 Oct 261: 477-82 |
| PMID | 21328015 |
| Title | Protective effects of haloperidol and clozapine on energy-deprived OLN-93 oligodendrocytes. |
| Abstract | Magnetic resonance imaging and postmortem studies on schizophrenia provided evidence for compromised myelin integrity and reduced numbers of oligodendrocytes, which may worsen during the disease course. However, it is not clear whether these findings result from disease-inherent oligodendrocyte degeneration or side effects of antipsychotic treatment. Therefore, effects of haloperidol and clozapine on the viability and apoptosis of immature oligodendrocytes (OLN-93 cells, immunopositive for NG2, Olig1, OLIG2) have been evaluated in the present study by labeling with propidium iodide and a caspase 3 assay. Given the indications for impaired cerebral energy supply in schizophrenia, a serum and glucose deprivation (SGD) model was chosen in comparison with the basal condition (BC). SGD led to increased necrotic and apoptotic cell death. Haloperidol and clozapine were partially protective in this model and reduced the percentage of propidium iodide-positive cells, while caspase 3 activity was not altered. No significant drug effects were observed under BC. The observed protective effects of haloperidol and clozapine on energy-deprived OLN-93 oligodendrocytes suggest that previously reported reductions in oligodendrocyte density in schizophrenia are rather disease related than a side effect of medication. A new mechanism of antipsychotic action is suggested, which may help to establish new oligodendrocyte-directed therapies of schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 15 | Schizophr. Res. 2012 Jun 138: 8-17 |
| PMID | 22555017 |
| Title | Quetiapine enhances oligodendrocyte regeneration and myelin repair after cuprizone-induced demyelination. |
| Abstract | Myelin and oligodendrocyte dysfunctions have been consistently found in patients with schizophrenia. The effect of antipsychotics on myelin disturbances is unknown. The present study examined the effects of quetiapine on oligodendrocyte regeneration and myelin repair in a demyelination animal model. C57BL/6 mice were fed with cuprizone (0.2% w/w) for 12 weeks to induce chronic demyelination and oligodendrocyte degeneration, after which cuprizone was withdrawn to allow recovery. Quetiapine (10mg/kg/day) or vehicle (water) was administrated orally to mice for 0, 2, 3, or 4 weeks after cuprizone withdrawal. Locomotor activity and Y-maze tests were used to evaluate behavioral changes in the mice. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect morphological and biological changes in the brains. Cuprizone administration for 12 weeks resulted in severe demyelination, locomotor hyperactivity, and working memory impairment in mice. Remyelination occurred when cuprizone was withdrawn. Quetiapine treatment during the recovery period significantly improved the spatial working memory and increased myelin restoration. Quetiapine treatment also enhanced the repopulation of mature oligodendrocytes in the demyelinated lesions, which was associated with down-regulation of transcription factor OLIG2 in the process of cell maturation. The results of this study demonstrated that quetiapine treatment during the recovery period improves spatial working memory and promotes oligodendrocyte development and remyelination. This study supports the role of oligodendrocyte dysfunction in memory deficits in a schizophrenia mouse model and suggests that quetiapine may target oligodendrocytes and improve cognitive function. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 16 | PLoS ONE 2012 -1 7: e33019 |
| PMID | 22438888 |
| Title | Neuropathological similarities and differences between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: a flow cytometric postmortem brain study. |
| Abstract | Recent studies suggest that schizophrenia (SCH) and bipolar disorder (BPD) may share a similar etiopathology. However, their precise neuropathological natures have rarely been characterized in a comprehensive and quantitative fashion. We have recently developed a rapid, quantitative cell-counting method for frozen unfixed postmortem brains using a flow cytometer. In the present study, we not only counted stained nuclei, but also measured their sizes in the gray matter of frontopolar cortices (FPCs) and inferior temporal cortices (ITCs) from patients with SCH or BPD, as well as in that from normal controls. In terms of NeuN(+) neuronal nuclei size, particularly in the reduced densities of small NeuN(+) nuclei, we found abnormal distributions present in the ITC gray matter of both patient groups. These same abnormalities were also found in the FPCs of SCH patients, whereas in the FPCs of BPD patients, a reduction in oligodendrocyte lineage (OLIG2(+)) cells was much more common. Surprisingly, in the SCH FPC, normal left-greater-than-right asymmetry in neural nuclei densities was almost completely reversed. In the BPD FPC, this asymmetry, though not obvious, differed significantly from that in the SCH FPC. These findings indicate that while similar neuropathological abnormalities are shared by patients with SCH or BPD, differences also exist, mainly in the FPC, which may at least partially explain the differences observed in many aspects in these disorders. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 17 | Hum Brain Mapp 2013 Sep 34: 2025-31 |
| PMID | 22505278 |
| Title | Risk variant of oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 is associated with reduced white matter integrity. |
| Abstract | The oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) regulates the genesis of oligodendrocytes, the brain cells responsible for axonal myelination. Although it has been associated with psychiatric and neurological disorders, the impact of this gene on white matter integrity has never been investigated in humans. Using diffusion tensor imaging, we examined the effect of a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1059004) in OLIG2 previously associated with reduced gene expression, and with psychiatric disorders on fractional anisotropy in 78 healthy subjects. We found that the risk allele (A) was associated with reduced white matter integrity in the corona radiata bilaterally. This is consistent with evidence that it is a schizophrenia susceptibility gene, and suggests that it may confer increased risk through an effect on neuroanatomical connectivity. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 18 | Life Sci. 2013 Oct 93: 429-34 |
| PMID | 23973956 |
| Title | Antipsychotics promote the differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells by regulating oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factors 1 and 2. |
| Abstract | Oligodendrocyte/myelin abnormalities may be an important component of the pathogenesis found in schizophrenia. The aim of this current study was to examine the possible effects of the antipsychotic drugs (APDs) haloperidol (HAL), olanzapine (OLA), and quetiapine (QUE) on the development of oligodendroglial lineage cells. CG4 cells, an oligodendrocyte progenitor cell line, were treated with various concentrations of HAL, OLA, or QUE for specific periods. The proliferation and differentiation of the CG4 cells were measured. The regulation of CG4 cell differentiation by oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factors 1 and 2 (Olig1 and OLIG2) was examined. The APDs used in this study had no effect on the proliferation of CG4 cells. The APDs elevated the expression of 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP), a specific marker of oligodendrocytes, and promoted the CG4 cells to differentiate into CNP positive oligodendrocytes. QUE and OLA increased the expression of both Olig1 and OLIG2 whereas HAL only increased the expression of OLIG2. Our findings suggest that oligodendrocyte development is a target of HAL, OLA, and QUE and provide further evidence of the important role of oligodendrocytes in the pathophysiology and treatment of schizophrenia. They also indicate that the expression level of oligodendrocyte/myelin-related genes could be profoundly affected by APDs, which should be considered in future studies aiming to measure the oligodendrocyte/myelin-related gene expressions in schizophrenia patients. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 19 | Biol Open 2015 -1 4: 1336-43 |
| PMID | 26405049 |
| Title | Sonic hedgehog functions upstream of disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (disc1): implications for mental illness. |
| Abstract | DISRUPTED-IN-schizophrenia (DISC1) has been one of the most intensively studied genetic risk factors for mental illness since it was discovered through positional mapping of a translocation breakpoint in a large Scottish family where a balanced chromosomal translocation was found to segregate with schizophrenia and affective disorders. While the evidence for it being central to disease pathogenesis in the original Scottish family is compelling, recent genome-wide association studies have not found evidence for common variants at the DISC1 locus being associated with schizophrenia in the wider population. It may therefore be the case that DISC1 provides an indication of biological pathways that are central to mental health issues and functional studies have shown that it functions in multiple signalling pathways. However, there is little information regarding factors that function upstream of DISC1 to regulate its expression and function. We herein demonstrate that Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling promotes expression of disc1 in the zebrafish brain. Expression of disc1 is lost in smoothened mutants that have a complete loss of Shh signal transduction, and elevated in patched mutants which have constitutive activation of Shh signalling. We previously demonstrated that disc1 knockdown has a dramatic effect on the specification of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPC) in the hindbrain and Shh signalling is known to be essential for the specification of these cells. We show that disc1 is prominently expressed in OLIG2-positive midline progenitor cells that are absent in smo mutants, while cyclopamine treatment blocks disc1 expression in these cells and mimics the effect of disc1 knock down on OPC specification. Various features of a number of psychiatric conditions could potentially arise through aberrant Hedgehog signalling. We therefore suggest that altered Shh signalling may be an important neurodevelopmental factor in the pathobiology of mental illness. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 20 | Schizophr. Res. 2015 Dec 169: 374-80 |
| PMID | 26585218 |
| Title | Differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursors is impaired in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | The pathophysiology of schizophrenia involves disturbances of information processing across brain regions, possibly reflecting, at least in part, a disruption in the underlying axonal connectivity. This disruption is thought to be a consequence of the pathology of myelin ensheathment, the integrity of which is tightly regulated by oligodendrocytes. In order to gain insight into the possible neurobiological mechanisms of myelin deficit, we determined the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profile of laser captured cells that were immunoreactive for 2', 3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNPase), a marker for oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in addition to differentiating and myelinating oligodendrocytes, in the white matter of the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia subjects. Our findings pointed to the hypothesis that OPC differentiation might be impaired in schizophrenia. To address this hypothesis, we quantified cells that were immunoreactive for neural/glial antigen 2 (NG2), a selective marker for OPCs, and those that were immunoreactive for oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (OLIG2), an oligodendrocyte lineage marker that is expressed by OPCs and maturing oligodendrocytes. We found that the density of NG2-immunoreactive cells was unaltered, but the density of OLIG2-immunoreactive cells was significantly decreased in subjects with schizophrenia, consistent with the notion that OPC differentiation impairment may contribute to oligodendrocyte disturbances and thereby myelin deficits in schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 21 | Depress Anxiety 2015 Oct 32: 720-7 |
| PMID | 26271930 |
| Title | ASSOCIATION STUDY BETWEEN OLIGODENDROCYTE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 2 GENE AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER IN A CHINESE HAN POPULATION. |
| Abstract | Oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (OLIG2) is primarily concentrated in the brain and spinal cord ventricular zone, where this protein stimulates oligodendrocytes and specific neurons, determines motor neuron and oligodendrocyte differentiation, and sustains replication in early development. Recent studies have demonstrated that OLIG2 gene is associated with mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, mood disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of the present study was to explore whether OLIG2 gene is associated with OCD in a Chinese Han population through the assessment and analysis of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), namely, rs762178, rs1059004, and rs9653711, selected from OLIG2 gene sequences from 400 OCD samples and 459 healthy controls in a case-controlled association study. We demonstrated three principal results. First, SNP rs762178 was associated with OCD, female OCD, and early-onset OCD; rs1059004 was associated with OCD and early-onset OCD; and rs9653711 was also associated with OCD and early-onset OCD. Second, the pairs of loci rs762178 and rs1059004, rs1059004 and rs9653711, and rs762178 and rs9653711 exhibited linkage disequilibrium. Third, the three-locus A-C-G haplotype was associated with early-onset OCD. The present study is the first to verify the associations of SNPs rs762178, rs1059004, and rs9653711 of the OLIG2 gene with OCD in a Chinese Han population. Thus, OLIG2 might serve as a potential target for OCD treatment in future studies. Further studies should verify the current findings. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 22 | Front Cell Neurosci 2016 -1 10: 78 |
| PMID | 27065804 |
| Title | Oligodendrocyte and Interneuron Density in Hippocampal Subfields in Schizophrenia and Association of Oligodendrocyte Number with Cognitive Deficits. |
| Abstract | In schizophrenia, previous stereological post-mortem investigations of anterior, posterior, and total hippocampal subfields showed no alterations in total neuron number but did show decreased oligodendrocyte numbers in CA4, an area that corresponds to the polymorph layer of the dentate gyrus (DG). However, these investigations identified oligodendrocytes only on the basis of morphological criteria in Nissl staining and did not assess alterations of interneurons with immunohistochemical markers. Moreover, the association of findings in the posterior hippocampus with cognitive deficits remains unknown. On the basis of the available clinical records, we compared patients with definite and possible cognitive dysfunction; nine patients had evidence in their records of either definite (n = 4) or possible (n = 5) cognitive dysfunction. Additionally, we assessed the density of two oligodendrocyte subpopulations immunostained by the oligodendrocyte transcription factors Olig1 and OLIG2 and of interneurons immunolabeled by parvalbumin. We investigated posterior hippocampal subregions in the post-mortem brains of the same schizophrenia patients (SZ; n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 10) we examined in our previously published stereological studies. Our stereological studies found that patients with definite cognitive deficits had decreased total/Nissl-stained oligodendrocyte numbers in the left (p = 0.014) and right (p = 0.050) CA4, left CA2/3 (p = 0.050), left CA1 (p = 0.027), and left (p = 0.050) and right (p = 0.014) subiculum of the anterior part of the hippocampus compared to patients with possible cognitive deficits. In the present study, we found no significant influence of definite cognitive deficits in the posterior part of the hippocampus, whereas in the entire hippocampus SZ with definite cognitive deficits showed decreased oligodendrocyte numbers in the left (p = 0.050) and right (p = 0.050) DG and left CA2/3 (p = 0.050). We did not find significant differences in Olig1-, OLIG2-, or parvalbumin-positive cell density between SZ and controls in any of the subregions of the posterior hippocampus. Based on the results from our stereological study we hypothesize that a decreased number of oligodendrocytes in the anterior and entire hippocampus may be involved in cognitive deficits by impairing the connectivity of this structure in schizophrenia. In the posterior hippocampus, we could not replicate previously reported findings of decreased interneurons from the entire hippocampus. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |
| 23 | Schizophr. Res. 2016 Feb 170: 235-44 |
| PMID | 26776227 |
| Title | NeuN+ neuronal nuclei in non-human primate prefrontal cortex and subcortical white matter after clozapine exposure. |
| Abstract | Increased neuronal densities in subcortical white matter have been reported for some cases with schizophrenia. The underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain unresolved. We exposed 26 young adult macaque monkeys for 6 months to either clozapine, haloperidol or placebo and measured by structural MRI frontal gray and white matter volumes before and after treatment, followed by observer-independent, flow-cytometry-based quantification of neuronal and non-neuronal nuclei and molecular fingerprinting of cell-type specific transcripts. After clozapine exposure, the proportion of nuclei expressing the neuronal marker NeuN increased by approximately 50% in subcortical white matter, in conjunction with a more subtle and non-significant increase in overlying gray matter. Numbers and proportions of nuclei expressing the oligodendrocyte lineage marker, OLIG2, and cell-type specific RNA expression patterns, were maintained after antipsychotic drug exposure. Frontal lobe gray and white matter volumes remained indistinguishable between antipsychotic-drug-exposed and control groups. Chronic clozapine exposure increases the proportion of NeuN+ nuclei in frontal subcortical white matter, without alterations in frontal lobe volumes or cell type-specific gene expression. Further exploration of neurochemical plasticity in non-human primate brain exposed to antipsychotic drugs is warranted. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia |